1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a suction cup for nonsurgical correction of the form and/or functionality of the chest, which cup is placed in sealing contact on the anterior side of the torso and with which partial vacuum can be applied to the body.
Partial vacuum is to be understood as the value of a pressure difference relative to atmospheric pressure.
The purpose of the invention is to influence the anatomical configuration of the bones and cartilage of the chest, and especially to exert a bending moment on the bony and cartilaginous components of the ribs, sternum and costal arches, primarily for nonsurgical correction of funnel chest. The invention does not relate, or at best relates only secondarily, to cosmetic treatment of soft parts or reconstruction thereof.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Among those skilled in the medical arts, surgery is the means of choice for effective correction of funnel chest (see Morphological and Biochemical Investigations in Funnel and Pigeon Chest Deformations with Consideration of the Non-Collagenous Cartilage Components, Sonja Nitsche, Faculty of Medicine of the Westphalian Wilhelm University at Munster, Dissertation 2000, pages 19 to 25). In that document, conservative measures—physiotherapy and orthopedic techniques—are described as incapable of correcting the funnel.
According to that source, purely cosmetic operations are available, but they merely conceal the visual appearance of the funnel. This is achieved, for example, by interposing suitable material under the skin or by detaching ribs from the sternum forming the funnel base, pulling them over the sternum to the opposite side, and fixing them on the opposite side. However, the effects of the funnel on the internal organs are not eliminated thereby. In other operations, the connection between the mesosternum and the xiphoid process is severed and then the underlying diaphragm is cut loose from the sternum, so that further inwardly directed tensile forces can no longer act on the sternum during inhalation. Such operations are temporary solutions, with which radical operations can be postponed. Radical operations range from those in which the sternum is removed to the combination of mobilization of the sternum and fixation in overcorrected position. In one of the common radical operations it is necessary to make a skin incision from the jugular fossa to the navel, to separate the musculature located on the thorax, to sever the origins of the abdominal muscle at the level of the xiphoid process, to make incisions into the costal perichondrium, to push the perichondrium carefully aside, to sever the cartilage, to break through the sternum and to fix it by means of a metal strap, which if necessary is supplemented by two further straps, the strap ends being bent by pliers in such a way that they fit the thoracic aperture and do not push up the overlying tissue, to fix the straps, if necessary to chamfer protruding rib processes, to attach a Redon drainage, to close the wound, to hospitalize the patient for 10 to 14 days, to provide intensive support measures by respiratory therapy and to leave the metal straps implanted in place for twelve months.
Elsewhere (see The Funnel Chest. Stages and Shape Correction, Dr. Hans Peter Hummer, Zuckschwerdt Verlag, Munich, Bern, Vienna, 1985, pages 10, 11, 26, 31 and 32), correction of funnel chest is divided into three phases—mobilization, stabilization and soft-tissue reconstruction—and it is pointed out, from the historical perspective, that success in funnel-chest operations was hampered at first by lack of stabilization options. That source describes among other possibilities the use of wires, nails, clasps or steel straps as auxiliary means, which are left in the body or which protrude out of the body for months or years, in order to give the thorax the necessary stability after completion of funnel-chest surgery (mobilization of the sternum). The same source indeed mentions alternatives for nonsurgical correction of funnel chest, but it describes them as ineffective, especially a correction by means of suction cups based on the publication of Spitzy, to be discussed below.
In Spitzy (Textbook of Pediatrics, Volume 8, Pediatric Orthopedics, Prof. Dr. Hans Spitzy, F. C. W. Vogel Verlag, Leipzig, 3rd Edition, 1930, pages 196 and 197), it is described that, by using a glass bell over the depressed portion of a funnel chest and applying partial vacuum, an immediate alleviation of the funnel could be observed. However, the technique of the method was described as tricky, because it was difficult to fit the rigid wall of the suction cup used at that time to the uneven surfaces of the anterior thoracic wall.
From German Patent 19734571 A1 there is known, for treatment of funnel chest, a suction cup having a central, transparent plate and a rim that is matched or can be matched individually to the respective patient and that bears flexibly on his or her body. Reportedly, therapy units of 5 to 15 minutes can be administered one or two times per week with the suction cup.
Drawbacks of the prior art include the following: conservative methods are faced with a deep-rooted and widely held bias against options of this kind; cosmetic procedures achieve merely a purely cosmetic effect, which does not eliminate the effects of the funnel on the internal organs; separation of the diaphragm from the sternum represents a purely delaying tactic; radical operations impose a severe burden due to the operation and to the metal elements that remain implanted for months or years in order to fix the surgically treated funnel chest—quite aside from the patient's postoperative pain, which is sometimes considerable; for the suction cup according to Spitzy, no mention has been found of successful stabilization in the corrected condition; and the idea underlying German Patent 19734571 A1 has the disadvantage of short application units.
A cupping device having a suction cup is known from German Patent 4228406 C2.